Facing the press for the first time at a new club must be a daunting task for any new manager or head coach.

You sit there, staring out at the cameras and the waiting journalists, preparing to answer questions on your style, certain players and transfers, even though you have barely got your feet under the table.

Whilst managers do their due diligence on every aspect of a football club before they sign and during their first few days, there could be incidents they are not aware of, or issues they have not been briefed on.

When it is your first time in the Premier League and English is not your first language, that daunting element is magnified.

But Watford's latest head coach, Javi Gracia, dealt with all the questions thrown his way with a touch of class yesterday - and, more importantly, with a smile on his face.

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"I breathe football," Gracia said when asked what he enjoys doing outside of the sport.

"I’m alone here at the moment - my family is in Spain. For now, it’s 24 hours a day," he admitted, before joking: "when they are here, maybe only 23."

A small snapshot from the Spaniard's first press conference as head coach, but one that seemed to epitomise what he is all about on a personal level.

He strided into the media room at the London Colney training ground and peered out at the large number of journalists - and cameras - waiting for him. It was a far larger turnout than usual, unsurprisingly, but Gracia smiled and nodded at the new faces in front of him.

Two questions about why he chose Watford and how the team had been in training were asked, before it was straight onto transfers: what's happening with them?

Gracia made his stance clear straight away; coaching was his area, not the signing of players or sorting out deals for those unwanted.

It was far from the last question about transfers, yet the answer was always the same. He was not there to discuss that and was firm, but not unfair, in letting us know - which led to Watford's press officer interjecting to stop questioning along that line later on.

As the cameras were turned off and the national press got their chance to ask questions, Gracia visibly relaxed. That did not stop him being on his toes, though.

When asked what had gone wrong at Watford - what the difference was between the start of the season and now was, he was careful not to criticise Marco Silva or create any headlines.

"I have my opinion on the season so far, but to give that I think it’s not right to talk about the job of the other coach," Gracia explained. "I think he did a very good job, I don’t want to speak about something that maybe is not correct."

He knows the danger of uttering the wrong words.

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There were the inevitable questions about the Hornets' high turnover of head coaches and, with a smile on his face, Gracia said he was confident he would be here for the long run. But he also accepted that the life of a coach depends on results.

Relegation, Richarlison and how the move had come about all came up. Gracia explained that it had happened very quickly, that he'd got the call from his agent on Saturday and the next day saw him flying to England. Whether or not that was the first contact is down to your own interpretation.

Given the many nationalities in Watford's squad and the situation last year with Walter Mazzarri, Gracia was asked about English and what he expects on the training ground.

"English must be the official language," Gracia stated. "But, in some moments we can speak with Roberto Pereyra in Spanish if I speak only with him, or Carrillo or Richarlison, but we need to make a big effort to learn English and communicate between the players in English."

Gracia spoke in English and was adamant that he would not be joined by a spectator (Getty Images)

A line that probably sounded obvious to him, but will please supporters. Especially as he spoke of his desire to communicate without a translator and to improve his language quickly. He was apologetic for his English, which, as one journalist pointed out, was far better than anyone else in the room's Spanish.

And he spoke about his family; his three boys and spending the last six months with them in Malaga.

When he got the chance to speak to the local press, he joked about the weather in Russia and how cold it had been there. He was happy to answer any questions, even if it was at the end of a long first media call.

In 45 minutes with Gracia, there was already a sense you knew more about him as a person and what he values than had been managed in six months with Silva, or a whole season with Mazzarri. Clearly that does not mean he will be a success on the pitch, but if he is that personable with the players, they'll quickly forget their former head coach.

The first impression of Gracia is that on the outside he is a calm and relaxed man, but he was sharp to bat down any controversial questions.

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It's clear he is not detached from reality, as some other Premier League managers are, and he was happy to give honest answers to the questions.

Someone who has spent time in Russia and Greece is clearly rarely out of his comfort zone too.

Gracia is unlikely to give the soundbites that Silva did in the past few weeks, which is exactly what Scott Duxbury and Gino Pozzo will want. There won't be disagreements in public. It has not been Gracia's style in Spain and that will not change now.

Like most managers, Gracia would rather be in his office studying games or out on the training pitch coaching his players. But there was a sense he knows getting the press onside is beneficial to him.

Notes were made by Watford's staff when he used the wrong English word or did not understand a question and that says a lot.

Gracia is determined to improve both the football club's fortunes and his own coaching abilities, and he knows every little helps.